Ben Cacace
1996

              Jack and Jill: The rest of the story

     The famous story about Jack and Jill and a hill actually is the TV version of the original
story, which came out in hardcover, but was never very popular, because people had few
incentives to pay $19.95 for something that would take time and effort to read.  Had people 
known that these were only small tradeoffs compared with what is lost in the simplified, easily
memorized, yet good for children version, they may have made it an all time best seller and
maybe learned something at the same time.  Here is what actually happened...
     One summer Jack and Jill were killing time down at the local mall and saw a wonderful
trampoline.  They saw great incentives to owning a trampoline, but they realized that money was
scarce due to their small allowance and wasteful day by day spending habits.  They immediately
began scheming a way to increase their income possibilities.  They figured out, after making
several graphs of their income compared with time, that they would need to quadruple their
income for two weeks to get enough money for the trampoline.  They decided because they lived
in an economy that was predominantly free market, they could easily start their own small
business.  Not very creative themselves they decided to start a lemonade stand.  Before they
finalized the decision, they checked the factors of production, noting that natural resources were
not a problem thanks to a well stocked supermarket, and they could provide the labor.  They also
had enough capital to finance the stand.  Their next dilemma was what kind of juice to sell,
because they didn't realize that it is rather obvious what kind of juice a lemonade stand generally
sells.  They went to the library and did some research and found that during the summer months
lemonade sales skyrocket.  That is how they decided to sell lemonade.  They decided to trade off
quality for time and buy lemonade mix instead of making it the traditional way.  They went to the
store, where yet another decision faced them.  Should they buy the economy pack or the regular
size?  Thanks to unit pricing, they quickly figured they would be able to sell enough to make it
profitable to buy the economy pack.  After they set up their stand on a busy road, they realized
two things they had forgotten, cups and water.  They hadn't realized how difficult a lemonade
stand is to run and that it is no wonder governments have a hard time controlling an entire
economy.  They then, using their previous practice in decision making, quickly decided that even
though glasses were more trouble, they offered greater incentives than paper.  They could be
reused, cutting down disposal costs; they were preferred by customers (this they found out
inadvertently while researching what sells in the summer), and they already had some.  They then
set off up the hill towards their house whose location had been chosen for the view instead of
practicality.  It is a common misconception taught to young children that they were both on their
way to fetch some water at the time of their accident.  That story would never hold up in court,
because the whole truth is that only Jack was fetching water; Jill was getting glasses.  Not only
that, but they were both on their way back down.  It was really their fault that they fell down the
hill, because Jill insisted on bringing the mix up with them for fear of it being stolen, even
though Jack realized that no one would steal juice mix, especially without water or a glass.  It
was also partly Jack's fault, because he decided to carry more water than recommended by his
wise father.  Jill, of course, made it worse by agreeing vocally with her father, making it an issue
of pride, and, being macho, for Jack, forcing him to act irrationally.  So down they tumbled all
the way to the bottom of the hill.  Another part added for television is the part about Jack being
injured, because they think violence sells, where in reality they both ended up at the bottom of
the hill with scarcely a scratch.  Luckily, their foresighted mother had given them a spill-proof
bucket and plastic cups.  Jack and Jill could not tell the difference between the well-made cups
and regular glasses although the cup's durability showed.  The juice mix had also been packaged
for rough handling, because of standard procedures in supermarkets of the time.
     Despite their poor experience, Jack and Jill didn't waste any time in beginning to make
and sell lemonade to whomever wanted it and was able to pay.  Within two weeks they had made
enough money for the trampoline.  They immediately sold the lemonade stand to some kids who
had been eyeing it from the beginning.  Not only did they make a good profit running it, they also
made a profit selling it.  Thinking back on their previous athletic experiences, including walking
up and down the famous hill, they decided that the trampoline was too dangerous.  They also saw
the incentives in buying a low impact aerobic rider with a money back guarantee.  They ended
going with that plan seeing as they had few other options.  One must remember there are usually
options if one has an original mind, unlike Jack and Jill.  It would seem from looking at their
names maybe their lack of originality was genetically inherited, so please don't judge them on
what they can not control although if they tried it is likely they could overcome this difficulty. 
Jack and Jill ended up loving their rider and bought the company.  As joint leaders of the
company they came up with one of their more original, but not necessarily best ideas, the
infomercial.